Geranium named Americana Pink

ABSTRACT

A new Geranium plant particularly distinguished by its abundant foliage and its large semi-double pink colored flowers. The flower clusters consist of about forty florets each of which has a diameter of about 4.5 centimeters; the plant being free flowering and fast-rooting. The plant is quite spectacular in the balance of inflorescence to plant mass, with the relatively short peduncles placing the unusually large, colorful umbels just atop the foilage.

BACKGROUND

The present invention comprises a new and distinct geranium cultivar,botanically known as Pelargonium hortorum Bailey. The new cultivar ispropagated from a seedling resulting from the cross of a seed parent"Casino" (patent pending) and the pollen parent "Blues" (U.S. Plant Pat.No. 5,373).

This new geranium cultivar is a product of a planned breeding programintended to create new plants with pink colored flowers in semi-doubleflower form, green foliage, vigorous growth and superior cuttingproductivity.

The new cultivar was created in 1988 in Gilroy, Calif. and has beenrepeatedly asexually reproduced by cuttings in Gilroy, Calif. andGuatemala over a two year period. It has also been trialed at Okemos,Mich. It has been found to retain its distinctive characteristicsthrough successive propagations; and this novelty appears to be firmlyfixed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

This new Geranium plant is illustrated by the accompanying photographicdrawing which shows blooms, buds, and foliage of the plant in fullcolor, the colors shown being as true as can be reasonably obtained byconventional photographic procedures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW CULTIVARS

The following detailed descriptions set forth the distinctivecharacteristics of this new geranium. The data which defines thesecharacteristics were collected from asexual reproductions carried out inGilroy, Calif. The plant history was taken on 20 week old plants,blossomed under natural light in a greenhouse and color readings weretaken in the greenhouse on May 29, 1990 at 2:00 P.M. under ambientlight. Color references are primarily to The R.H.S. Colour Chart of TheRoyal Horticultural Society of London, England.

THE PLANT

Classification:

Botanical.--Pelargonium hortorum Bailey.

Commercial.--Zonal geranium.

Form: Intermediate height bush form.

Height: Nine to eleven cm., as a 51/2 inch pot plant, excluding blooms.

Growth: Vigorous growth; free flowering and fast-rooting.

Strength: Sturdy not susceptible to wind or rain damage. Good shippingability as rooted or unrooted cuttings.

Foliage: Abundant quantity.

Leaves.--Size: Diameter about 6 cm. Shape: Rounded cordate withoccasional upfolding between veins. Margin: Irregularly crenate.Texture: Leathery and pubescent on both surfaces, especially alongveins. Ribs and veins: Distinctly palmate, 3 to 4 cm. long. Color: Upperside: Green. Underside: Lighter green color. Ribs and veins notprominently different from upper surface.

Petioles.--About 3.8 to 6.0 cm. in length.

THE BUD

Size:

Diameter.--About 7 mm.

Length.--About 1.7 cm. to 2.0 cm. at time of bud opening.

Shape: Pointed ovoid.

Color: When sepals first divide, RHS 66-D.

Sepals: Five in number, flat behind petals. Pointed linear lanceolate,RHS 67-C/D in an open flower.

THE FLOWER

Blooming habit: Continuous throughout the year.

Size: Approximately 4.5 cm. diameter, 1.3 cm. deep, irregularly radiallysymmetrical.

Form: Cup-shaped when bloom first opens, later flattening to shallow cupshape with maturity.

Petals: Five to six imbricate outer petals, 2.2-2.5 cm. wide andapproximately 2.4 cm. long, 2 to 4 inner smaller petaloids of varyingshape. Both the outer petals and inner petaloids are pink, RHS 67-C/D.Veins are not distinctly darker than interveinal regions. Color changinglittle with age. Underside of petals lighter and veins darker thaninterveinal regions. Petals and petaloids soft and satiny. Petal andpetaloid coloration includes splashes of white or lighter pink shadesradiating from the basal portions of the two top outer petals of mostflorets: where veining is of conspicuously darker coloration thaninterveinal areas. Whiter portions of such petals normally is confinedto about the lower 1/3 central portion of the top two petals of florets,and is diffused gradually with a progressively more intense pink blushtoward petal margins. The reverse surfaces of the petals and petaloidsmay include white shadings or lighter, faded pink shadings, which varyin intensity, and may starkly contrast with a generally solid anduniform pink of the top surfaces. Except for the two top petals, theremaining petals and petaloids generally appear solid in pink colorationrendering an overall lively pink and pink-white character to the massivemound-shaped umbels.

Pedicel: Approximately 3 cm. in length.

Persistence: Nonshattering flower.

INFLORESCENSE

Type: An umbel composed of approximately 40 flowers, erect or laterallyascending.

Peduncle: Approximately 5-8 cm. in length, mostly 8 cm; green in color.The peduncles are naturally short, not having been treated with growthregulators.

REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS

Stamens:

Anthers.--Eight to ten positioned below the mature stigma, dull redprior to anthesis.

Filaments.--White from base turning red near the point of connection tothe anther.

Pollen.--Orange in color.

Pistil:

Number.--One.

Length.--Approximately 7 mm.

Stigma.--Five (sometimes six) linear lobes of near equal length, curlingback toward ovary, purplish-red.

Style.--Length: about 3-3.5 mm. color: purplish red.

Ovaries.--At anthesis, densely pubescent with white hairs, oblong. Greendrying to a light brown at maturity.

Fruit.--Partially fertile.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Geranium substantially asherein shown and described characterized by green foilage with pinkcolored with splashes of white and light pink semi-double flowers onlarge umbels held just above the foilage by relatively short peduncles,the plant being fast-rooting and having a vigorous bush like growthhabit.